Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Leo was floating in the cold of the prison dimension. Kraang Prime was only a few meters away from him, but Leo couldn’t do much but wait for the next hit. He didn’t have much in him after the chaos that was the past few hours. Even if Leo could fight back, his sword was slowly floating away from him. If he reached out, he would probably be able to reach it by a hair, but Leo most definitely had multiple broken bones. The beating he had taken from Prime had knocked any fight out of him. He had been such a bad leader, and no one was going to properly reprimand him at home, so he might as well get it from a psychotic gooey alien.

Kraang Prime was reaching out towards him. He was ready to go in for another attack, but a bright orange light blinded the monster. Leo's eyes went wide as the warm light hit the back of his shell. He carefully turned himself around to see what seemed to be a portal only a few feet away from him. It was shiny and bright, but he couldn’t turn away from the comforting sight. Although he couldn’t see them, Leo could hear his brothers calling to him.
“Leo, hold on!”

“C’mon, Nardo, don’t do this to us!”

“I’m not giving up on you!”

Leo reached his hand out as he drifted closer to the portal. One by one, he noticed his brother's worried faces. Raph’s chasm was most definitely growing in size, but panic was laced in his eyes. Donnie was uncharacteristically upset; the normally unimpressed face of Leo’s twin now showed genuine fear, and tears were running down their face. Mikey stood in between the older two, arms outstretched to the portal, as he called out to Leo.

Leo wanted to call out to them, but he could tell by their shifting faces that he didn’t have to announce it. A small smile grew on his face, but it quickly disappeared when Leo felt a presence behind him. Kraang Prime had gotten closer and was practically on top of Leo. His mechanical arm was above his head and was quickly moving towards Leo. Now, with some renewed hope, Leo pushed himself to the side, barely avoiding the swing. His brother shouted at him, their cries echoing through the black void.

“Stay away from my brother!” Mickey screamed, with more tears falling from his eyes.

With another flash, the portal grew in size and brightness. This time, both Leo and Kraang Prime were blinded by the light, but Leo knew this would be his only chance. He reached out towards his odachi and grabbed it before opening his eyes to look at Prime. Kraang Prime was covering his eyes with his two abnormally long arms. Leo took the moment to position himself above the head of Prime’s armor. Leo placed his feet in the right spot, then launched himself off of the helmet. He let out a hiss of pain from the monover, but he didn’t care. His brothers were on the other side of that portal, and there was nothing that would keep him from them.
He soared through the alternate dimension, keeping his eyes locked on his destination. Leo couldn’t hear his brother anymore, but he knew they would be there. Their faces weren’t on the other end, but the portal was just too bright. His eyes were still adjusting; that's why he saw the skyline of New York City instead of his brothers.
Slash!
Leo gasped in pain as he looked back at Prime. Well, it was hard to see him since the hit sent him spinning in circles. Prime had cut Leo’s ankle just above the Achilles tendons. The odachi slipped from his hand, but he was preoccupied. He could make out the looming figure of Prime, but he was too far now. There was no way he could catch up to Leo, even if he pulled a similar trick to himself. Leo could see the orange started to engulf him as Prime dashed forward. He couldn’t help but smile again as he fell into the portal. Oh, Leo couldn’t wait to tell his sibling that they won! He couldn’t wait to hold them again and never ever let go!
Entering the portal, Leo felt the familiar pull into the vortex, but it felt different from his own portals. His portals, for starters, were blue, but they were also windy and tended to send those inside them flying around if they weren’t prepared for it. This one was still windy, but it felt more…determined? It wasn’t as wild as his own, but the portal seemed to be brimming with life. As if it were the first time it was opened. It glowed and shined like a diamond and had a faint smell of oranges to it, which surprised him. His portal didn’t have a distinct smell! Yellows mixed in with golden hues similar to watercolor paints. Leo spotted small stars moving around, and he couldn’t tell if he was making it up or if they were really there.

Before Leo could process his surroundings, he felt himself shoot out from the mystic contraption. The feeling of warm summer air hit him as he fell. He watched in surprise as the large opening to the portal began to close. Leo fell back and prepared himself to start free falling towards the ground; instead, he felt his shell roughly scraping against the concrete. He came to a stop once he crashed into something metal. The wind kicked out of him, and he started coughing on the ground.

Leo winced as he attempted to get up, but his injuries were starting to catch up to him. His arm gave out as he tried to push himself into a sitting position. He fell back onto whatever he landed on and hissed in pain. Every muscle in his body screamed at him, but his bones were shreking at him. When he tried to sit up, Leo got a glance at his ankle, which was bleeding pretty badly. If he didn’t stop it, he was going to pass out from blood loss. Despite this, Leo just laid there, staring at the night sky. He used the last of his energy to pull that stunt on Prime. There was no way Leo would be moving, unless it was someone else moving him.

Leo waited. He waited for what felt like forever for his brothers. He waited for Raph to run over and bare hug him. Would it have hurt like hell? Yes, but Leo wouldn’t have complained about being manhandled that one time. He waited for Donnie to give him a panicked lecture about everything he did wrong while basking in the sight of Don crying. Leo wanted to tease him to hell in back, then wait for Donnie to get his sweet revenge once Leo was fully healed. He waited for Mikey to come over and shower him with gentle hugs and words of reassurance. Leo wanted to see his little brother smile brighter than he ever had before. He waited for April to come around the corner with Casey Jr. and his dad. Their questions and worries would fill his ears as he held his brothers tightly. That tie didn’t seem to come.

Suddenly, a faint noise came from around the corner. Leo couldn’t really describe it. It was similar to the sound his sword made when opening a portal, but closer to ruffling fabric. The unknown thing (or was it a person?) made a curious hum. It was clearer than before and closer.

Leo’s eyes widened in anticipation. It had to be his family! They were here. He wasn’t alone anymore. He watched the corner as a haze started to cloud his mind. Every part of him was begging for rest, and Leo couldn’t fight the feeling even if he wanted to.

Sleep started to take hold, but his eyes never left the corner. His vision went blurry as a light blue figure appeared. It looked around a bit before making a worried gasp. The last thing Leo saw before slipping into unconsciousness was the figure floating towards him.

Chapter Text

Usagi would normally love having nothing to do, but not when he was the only one home! The rabbit was sitting outside the garage, bouncing Spot’s ball on the wall. The tokage would run between Usagi and the wall, trying to catch the toy. If it wasn’t for how entertaining Spot was, Usagi would have probably fallen asleep on the concrete.

All of his friends were out doing their own things. Gen and Toshiko were out running errands together, Chizu left a few hours ago for training at the Neko Ninja’s hideout, and Kitsune said something about one of her shows and left abruptly.

At first, Usagi was content with being left alone. By the time Kitsune left, he was in the middle of a training session. He wrapped it up about an hour later; and went to clean himself off. That's when he noticed Spot playing in the dirt outside, which normally would be okay, but it had been raining almost every day that week. It was muddy, and he knew the others would be upset with little Spot tracks inside the house. So Usagi gave him a bath, and he wasn’t very happy with that. After a while of fighting the tokage, Usagi was able to take a break. He sat in his room reading while Spot took a nap at the end of the bed. Usagi blasted through the comics he had and soon found himself wandering around for things to do. He walked around the house for a while before ending up outside. Spot had joined him, ball in mouth.

It had only been about three years since the invasion. Neo Edo had been mostly repaired, but there were some areas that were in ruins. Many businesses were holding on by a hair; some of Usagi’s favorite restaurants had even gone under. Many were injured, but civilian casualties and deaths were overall low. Chizu had the Neko Ninjas help with the recovery of bodies and those who were trapped. Gen and Toshiko led the clean up crew and the two still would sweep the streets looking for anything they may have missed. Kitsune and Usagi often stayed behind to help the doctors and nurses with whatever they needed. For the first few weeks, the two were kept busy, but as the city calmed down many returned to their lives.

Well, almost everyone has. For Usagi, the past three years have gone by slowly. Dealing with an alien invasion in a few hours isn’t the easiest thing to do. Not to mention the stress that was placed on their shoulders. Arguably, Usagi had to deal with most shit. Everything leading up to the Makkine’s invasion fell somewhat on his shoulders. He basically started the entire thing, and it was his job to fix it.

“What are you doing?”

Usagi felt like he had jumped six feet off the ground! The rubber ball hit the center of his forehead, and Spot jumped up and caught it before it could hit the concrete again. He rubbed the spot and turned to look at whoever snuck up on him. Kitsune was standing there, laughing to herself. She had a suitcase behind her, which she used to store her puppets and sets.

Usagi narrowed his eyes. “Rude!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you’re a wimp!” the fox jokes.

Kitsune sat her suitcase down and joined him on the ground. She leaned back and let out an exhausted sigh. Her head tilted up to look at the setting sun with an admiring gleam in her eyes. Without shifting her gaze, she continued to talk.

“The streets were busy today. I actually made a decent amount tonight!” Kitsune laughed proudly.

“You didn’t steal anything, right?” Usagi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kitsune shot him a look. She opened her mouth but then abruptly shut it. The usually carefree and cheerful face morphed into a saddened look. The fox pulled her legs closer to her chest, and her eyes settled onto a small patch of weeds peeking out of the cement.

It had been awhile since Usagi had seen his friend like this. He didn’t like accusing Kitsune of stealing, but she is a recovering kleptomaniac. Usagi spent the most time with Kitsune (other than Chizu), and he’s seen firsthand how much improvement she’s made. Usually she comes to either him or Chizu during a relapse, but she doesn’t usually get this visually upset. Maybe he should stop jumping to conclusions.

“Ah, sorry, did I touch a nerve?”

Kitsune glanced up at him before slowly shaking her head. “No, you’re okay, Sagi. I guess I just feel guilty.”

Usagi turned himself around to face his friend. “What do you mean?”

Kitsune adjusted herself before giving him a weak smile. “It’s nothing to worry about, Sagi. I think I just need to rest for a bit.”

Usagi watched as Kitsune shifted to a kneeling position. She was about to stand up when both of their phones buzzed. At first, Usagi thought it was just his, but when Kitsune reached into her pocket, he knew he was hearing things right. He reached into his own pocket and also took out his phone.

Phones were very new to Neo Edo. They had been recently introduced to the country, and so far only government officials have been able to get them. Mostly to communicate with their forces better or their families when they’re far away from home. Lord Kogane had been gifted some by another shogun from another city. He didn’t seem to care for them at first, but he soon gave them to Usagi and his friends as a way to reach them easier. Gen and Chizu didn’t really care for the new tech, but Usagi, Kitsune, and Toshiko quickly adjusted to it. Toshiko praised the tech and tried to help Gen and Chizu get used to the new device. It made sense, she was the resident mechanic, and she loved taking things apart to see how they worked. Usagi and Kitsune loved their phones but were often confused by how they worked. It’s not like Lord Kagane gave them the manual (he kept that for himself). Although it was nice of him to consider them, he even gave one to Tetsujin, but he had a really hard time using it because of the whole ghost thing.

Speaking of Tetsujin, Usagi was surprised to see that the bear had messaged him. Usagi swiped pasted the photo of him, and Spot opened the device. He tapped on the messenger app and saw that the text wasn’t only sent to him. Kitsune, Chizu, and Gen had also been sent the message.

“Hello everyone! Please come to temple.I have something urgent to share to you.”

At the same time, Usagi and Kitsune looked up at each other with a concerned look. They had only visited the temple a few times since the invasion. Usually to check that the Makkine weren’t back and also to check on the Ki-stone. Tetsujin was busy helping the ki-stone return to full power, so as usual, he stayed at the temple and only occasionally left. Even so, he would keep the others updated if anything strange happened.

Kitsune stood up and turned back to the house. “Let me put my stuff inside.”

She quickly ran to the front door as Usagi called out for Spot. The tokage stopped gnawing at the ball that he had pulled into the grass. His dark eyes met Usagi’s brown ones, and he immediately jumped up and ran over to that rabbit. Usagi allowed the tokage to leap onto his shoulder before standing up. Usagi adjusted his sword on his hip, and Kitsune came back. The two nodded at each other before they started walking towards the temple.

—------------------------------------------------------------------

The trio walked up the front doors of the temple. Both Usagi and Kitsune slowed down as they got closer. They stopped outside the doors, and as Kitsune reached the door, they heard someone shout their names.

“Kitsune! Usagi! You got the message too?” Gen asked Chizu at his side.

Usagi smiled at his friends, and Spot yipped in excitement once she saw them. Kitsune beamed and ran over to Chizu, who grinned at the fox as the two gave each other a quick hug. Gen gave Spot a pat on the head as he waited for an answer to his question.

“Hey, you two and yes, we did.” Usagi responded.

Kitsune turned back to the group after letting go of Chizu and asked, “Do you think there’s something wrong with the Ki-stone?”

A wired air fell over the group. No one wanted to hear that after what happened. Although it didn’t seem likely that the aliens were back, Tetsujin would have been way more panicked if that were the case. Would he even bother texting everyone, or would he just flout over to the house?

“I don’t think that’s the case.” Chizu stated plainly. “Tetsujin seemed oddly calm in his message.”

“But why does he want all four of us here if it isn’t an emergency?” Kitsune huffed.

Chizu gently placed a hand on the fox’s shoulder. “Let’s go in and find out. We shouldn’t keep him waiting any longer.”

The other three nodded, and they all ready themselves for whatever Tetsujin had waiting for them.

Usagi opened the doors to the temple and walked in, his friends close behind him. The temple hadn’t seemed to change since the last time the rabbit was there. If anything, it seemed a bit cleaner than before, but otherwise, it was the same. The ki-stone shone under the soft light of the moon that was starting to rise. The lanterns were all lit, and the fire flickered with the group's quick motions.
“Tetsujin! We’re here!” Usagi called out as they entered the main hall.

The Ki-stone lit up in a rhythmic pattern; she seemed happy to see them (at least that's what Usagi thought that meant). A sound came from a nearby room, and soon Tetsujin amerged. He scanned the room for a second before his eyes landed on the group. He smiled, and quickly he made his way over, rambling as he did.

“Oh, you’re finally here! I was starting to think that I didn’t send that message, right? It’s so hard for me to use that thing, but it sure is useful! Ki-stone likes it too, even if she can’t use it herself. It’s a good thing I know a thing or two about technology! Otherwise, I’d be completely lost.”

Gen sighed. “We’re glad to know that the phone is working, Tetsujin, but about the message-”

“Ah, yes, Usagi, what do you know about kappas?”

Usagi raised an eyebrow because he knew a lot about yokai, but Tetsujin never really asked him about them. Kappas were also oddly specific. Ever since Usagi accidently released the yokai, the demons were roaming all around the place. He’d seen a lot of different kinds, but Sagi couldn’t recall ever seeing a kappa.

Kappa were aquatic yokai who usually lived in rivers. While there were rivers in the area, there hadn’t been as many yokai sightings there. Kappa were also one of the only yokai that most of the public knew about. When Usagi first arrived in Neo Edo, he was surprised to see a lot of kappa imagery. Some restaurants used the monster as a mascot, and many artists drew them as well. It was the only yokai most of the townsfolk knew by name back then. Still, they haven’t been seen in Neo Edo. Did Tetsujin find a kappa? If so, why did he call the others here?
“What do you need to know?” Usagi asked with stars in his eyes.

Despite his concerns, he had to admit that he was excited to talk to someone about yokai who was willing to hear. This chance didn’t come around often, and Usagi wasn’t going to waste it!
“Anything you can tell me.” Tetsujin said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, they usually live in rivers. They can go on land, but they’re typically slower on dry land than when they are in the water. They're usually the size of a kid, but they’re stranger than any adult! Which is so cool! Oh, they also have this disk on their heads that has to have water in it at all times! If it dries out, they can’t move, and sometimes they die if they go too long without water in it.”
Usagi’s friends watch his info dumped, feeling bad for the bear. Tetsujin listened to the rabbit intently. He rubbed at his chin and watched Usagi as he moved his arms around in big gestures. His eyes went wide once the disks on a kappa head were brought up.

Abruptly, the ghost bear zoomed over the room; he was just leaving the others in the hall. Chizu, Kitsune, and Gen stared in surprise at the door that Tetsujin went through. The three of them locked eyes with each other, and after a wordless conversation, they ran after the bear. Usagi was still talking as the three of them ran past him. Advetelly, Gen grabbed Usagi and shocked the rabbit out of his rambling.

“Uh, Hey, what’s going on?”

Usagi looked up to see Chizu sliding open the door to one of the extra rooms. He always thought that it was a storage room, and in a way, he wasn’t wrong. Loose papers and scrolls lay on the floor, but that wasn’t what Usagi was worried about.

There was a bed sitting across from the door. Light blue and white sheets and blankets rested on top of something breathing. Usagi and his friends crept into the room to get a closer look, and Usagi’s heart sank at what he saw. An olive green reptile lay asleep on the bed. They had red marks stretched over their eyes and a dirty, torn mask laid next to their face. The most disturbing part, though, was how injured they were. Their left arm was kept in place by a makeshift splint. Bandages were wrapped around most of their body; it was impossible to see the rest of them. Something was under one of their legs, and Usagi fought the urge to look under the covers. Even as the reptile slept, Usagi could see the pain they were in, and it made him want to cry.
Tetsujin was looking around their heads in search of something. His face was calm, but his frantic motions told them something different. He moved so fast that it made Usagi a bit dizzy just watching him, but he quickly snapped out of it when the bear called out to him.

“Usagi, I can’t find the dish!”

Quickly, the rabbit made it over to the kappa and started to scan their head. Usually the disk was off the top of the head. At the angle the pillow was at, it would surely be empty. Usagi couldn’t see a disk, though, but he had to double check. Carefully, Usagi lifted the supposed kappa’s head so he could get a better look. A painful hiss came from the kappa, but it didn't wake up. He whispers apologies to them as he checks their head over for any dish. After a minute, Usagi gently set their head back on the pillow.

He sighed. “No need to worry, Tetsujin. This isn’t a kappa.”

“How can you be so sure?” Gen asked as he strained his voice to keep quiet.

“There’s no dish on their head. I’ve never heard of a kappa without one. Besides, this dude is way too big to be a kappa.” Usagi painted at the end of the bed.

From the way the blankets rested on top of the stranger, you could tell they were much taller than a child. Usagi actually thought the two might be similar in height. If anything, the reptile may be a few inches taller than him, but he couldn’t say for sure.

The room fell silent as everyone took in the new information. For Tetsujin, it wasn’t much, but for the other four, they had to comprehend the hurt stranger in the temple. Usagi hadn’t felt like this in three years. The sadness, dred, and guilt washed over him as he looked over the reptile. Only those who were caught in the crossfire were as badly injured as this person. Even then, they seemed worse.
“Is this why you called us here?” Chizu questioned, voice quiet.

Tetsujin nodded slowly. “I had cleaned the front of the temple earlier, and I realized that I forgot to take out the trash once I was finished. I went out to the back, and as I came around the corner, I saw this flash of orange. That’s when I found this guy. I saw them fall asleep, and they haven't woken up since.”

“How long ago was that?” Gen asked.

“About an hour ago, maybe. As you can see, this person is a species that isn’t commonly found in Neo Edo. I thought that maybe it was a yokai, but as Usagi said, they are not.”
“Do you think the Ki-Stone brought them?” Usagi wondered, looking back towards the giant gem.

“I’m afraid not; she was just as worried as I was. Once she saw them, of course.” Tetsujin sighed. “I was hoping you four may recognize them or hear of someone missing in the city.”
The four of them all reacted differently. Gen shook his head after a minute of thinking. He mumbled something about his sister, but Kitsune had spoken up. Her answer wasn’t much different from Gen’s, though. She kept thinking of possible places where she may have heard something, but she couldn’t remember for sure. Chizu was at the Neko Ninja’s dojo all day, and Usagi was at the house. None of them have heard anything about a missing reptile.

Silence fell over them, (which rarely happened), maybe they didn’t want to risk being too loud, but they were likely just taking in the information. Usagi knew he was, but he was also asking himself so many questions. Whoever was lying on the bed was badly injured; that much was obvious, but who or what did that to them? Was there a new threat to Neo Edo? Usagi wasn’t sure if he was ready to fight again. Sure, he did miss the thrills of adventure, but what if this was something bigger than him? Would they be prepared? Was there even any danger?

After a moment, the stranger made a weak noise. All heads turned to them as their face shifted. Their mouth opened, but no words escaped. Usagi tried to match the mouth movements to words, but his efforts were wasted. He was able to make out specific letters, but Usagi couldn’t put them together. The few letters he was able to make out were few and far between. Their free arm twitched, causing one of the blankets to partly fall off them. The sudden twitch became more frequent, but thankfully, it didn’t seem to hurt. Sagi mindlessly reached over to the stranger’s and placed his hand on top of theirs. Slowly, the jolts stopped, and Usagi smiled as they calmed down.

“Tetsujin, why did you call us here?” Chizu inquired.

The bear moved over to his sleeping guest. He leaned over them and looked them over before speaking. “I hate to admit it, but I’m not the best with this medical stuff. The four of you know a lot more than me and even the Ki-Stone. If you can, I would appreciate it if you helped me find anyone who knows them. I’m not sure how long they’ll be out. Are you guys willing to help?”
“I’ll help!” Usagi said a little too loudly.

His friends turned to shush him, and he flinched at the sound. Sometimes he forgets how loud he can get. Luckily, the stranger did seem to notice.

“I’ll get in contact with the Shiba Inu’s.” Gen added, “If I’m fast enough, I may be able to catch them before they close for the night.”

“I have a few more performances scheduled for the week. I’ll listen for anything useful.” Kitsune smirked.

Chizu walked forward. “I’ll have the ninjas keep a lookout. If they find anything, I’ll let you know.”

Usagi turned back to his friends with a determined glint in his eyes. “I can help with some of the basic first aid! I learned a few things while helping in the hospitals.”

“Oh, I’m thankful for you guys. I could never thank you enough.” Tetsujin beamed.

“There's no need to thank us, Tetsujin. Now, let’s get to work!” Usagi cheered.

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since Usagi and his friends started helping Tetsujin take care of the stranger. One the day Tetsujin called for them, Gen had runned over to the Shiba Inu’s clinic, but by the time he got there, they had already felt for the night. That left Usagi and Kitsune to do the best they could until someone got in contact with a doctor.
While they waited, Usagi took the liberty to check over the bandages. That’s when he learned that the stranger was a turtle. He didn’t understand how Tetsujin missed the shell on their back, but adrenaline sometimes made you miss the obvious. Usagi announced his discovery to the others, Kitsune and Tetsujin, who made different surprising noises. Apparently, turtles are rare in Neo Edo. They usually stayed towards the southern islands, and while they did travel a lot, none of them stayed in (or near) Neo Edo. No one really knew the reason why, but that wasn’t their main problem at the moment. The bandages needed to be replaced, even though the bleeding had mostly stopped. Kitsune and Usagi did most of the work, but they kept up the conversion between themselves and Tetsujin.
After a while, they finished wrapping them up. The bear started to clean up with the help of Kitsune. Usagi had run over to the kitchen to grab a cloth and a bucket. He filled it with warm water and carefully made his way back to the temporary med-bay. The bucket was set on the floor, and the cloth was thrown inside. After it was fully soaked, Usagi started to wipe away spots of dry blood.
Usagi had met a few turtles before. All of them had been travelers who stopped at his Auntie’s farm for some food. They were all very nice and respectful towards Auntie. There was one time some turtles stopped by during a bad harvest. At the time, Auntie couldn’t afford to hand out food to anyone, paying or not. The group of turtles didn’t put up any argument when she turned them down. They just said, ‘Thank you’ for considering’ and walked away. Not every person would be so nice; in one instance, Auntie almost had to fight them. Usagi was so young at the time that seeing the group of turtles a few months later helped settle his nerves.
The young boy washed the skin of the injured person. Once he was finished, he tossed the cloth back into the bucket. Usagi took the extra time to examine the individual a bit more. Their skin was smooth, with occasional bumps. The red marks on their eyes weren’t the only markings on their body. Going down their arms were similar-shaped marks, more of a yellow-green color. They were almost unnoticeable, half because of their color and half because of the bandages. Usagi thought that they might also be a warrior of some sort due to the bit of mussel he could see. Kitsune made a sly remark about him staring at some dude's mussels, but he just shook it off.
Silence fell over them for a bit, but it wasn’t kept for long. Kitsune had walked over to Usagi, who was sitting in a chair, watching as Spot made himself more comfortable next to the reptile.
“So, what do you think happened?” She asked with a bored tone in her voice.
Usagi just shrugged. “Who knows, but nothing good did this.”
Kitsune sighed in agreement. “Do you think they're from the southern islands?”
“Maybe, but who knows? I’ve only met a few turtles before, and I have no idea where they were from.”
“I think I’ve only seen like three before in the city. How are we going to find anyone who knows this guy?”
As if on cue, Tetsujin came flying into the room. He held a leather belt and strap with a strange buckle connecting the two together.
“Tetsujin, what's that?” Kitsune asked.
The bear stopped mid-flight, as if he wasn’t expecting to be spoken to. “Oh, I was just going to find a place to keep this. We don’t want our friend to lose it once they wake up.”
“Wait, that's theirs?” Usagi repeated as he pointed to the reptile.
“Yep! It was the only thing on him other than that mask. I don’t want it to get lost in my mess of stuff.”
The bear flouted over and laid the garb on the end of the bed. Spot's head popped up from the noise, but he immediately put his head back down. Upon closer look, Usagi could see small pouches sewn onto the side. At some point, whoever was sewing ran out of the matching black thread, and they switched over to silver. It was clearly loved due to the dirt, tares, and stains that littered the surface. The rabbit couldn’t tell if there was anything inside, but he wasn’t really focused on that. He was looking at the buckle with intrigue. The design was very simple; a ‘v’ shape was in the middle, and connected to it were two other lines. It wrapped around the v in a way that reminded Usagi of teeth.
“Is that all?” Kitsune asked.
She placed her elbow on Usagi’s shoulder and looked at the bear. She leaned into her friend, and Usagi engaged his mussels a bit to keep them both up.
Tetsujin tapped his chin in thought. “Yes, I believe so. I remember thinking to myself how strange it was to see this person without much on. The few yokai I’ve seen tend to not wear clothes. Maybe that’s why I thought they were a kappa.”
Usagi nods slowly at the information. Kitsune lets out a huff before pushing herself off of him. For a second, she doesn’t move, but eventually she starts moving towards the door.
“Well, I think I’m going to go train for a while. Want to join me, Usagi?”
The rabbit turns to her and then looks back at Tetsujin. “Will you be okay watching over him for a bit?”
The bear just smiles and nods. “You’ve been in here for hours. Go enjoy the sun!”
Usagi smiles back and stands up from his chair. He feels every sore spot as he stretches out his back. Spot looks up at him, but the tokage is too sleepy to move. The rabbit pats the small creature's head before double-checking if he has his sword. After that, he runs over to Kitsune and waves goodbye to Tetsujin.
The duo makes their way outside to the front of the temple. Usually, if they train at the temple, they do it inside, but the weather was so nice today. It was bright and sunny, which was the perfect condition for a quick brawl. Besides, they didn’t want to make too much noise. The turtle has been out for a while now, and no one wanted to accidentally wake them up.
There had been a few times the turtle woke up, but they were few and far between. The first time was when the Shibba Inus arrived for the first time. They had to take some blood samples back to their lab, and in the process of drawing out red liquid, they woke up briefly. They didn’t say much; they just mumbled someone's name, then told them not to mess with their stuff. They kept telling the doctors how to correctly draw blood, like they weren’t trained professionals. Gen kept telling them that a doctor was drawing their blood, but it fell to deaf ears. Not long after the sample was collected, they fell back asleep and didn’t wake up again.
The second time, they had woken up after a fresh dose of painkillers were in their system. Usagi wasn’t there at the time, but Tetsujin was. According to him, the turtle just stared at him and kept calling him names that he didn’t recognize. He tried to correct them, but everytime a new name would leave the reptile's mouth. They were only up for about two minutes before passing out again.
The last time this happened was only yesterday. Usagi had made a habit of visiting the turtle every day and he had just arrived with his friends. They were talking to Tetsujin in the main hall when they heard an earth-shattering scream. Usagi had to cover his sensitive ears by almost wrapping them around his face. The volume of the scream died down, and when the group realized it came from the med bay, they ran towards the room. Usagi was the first one to get there. He saw the turtle sitting up in bed, holding onto a part of their pastron that had been badly damaged. Their eyes were wide open and were laced with fear. They slowly looked up at Usagi, and their eyes met for a moment. Then they fell back into bed. When Usagi got to the bedside, they had already fallen back asleep.
Sun rays hit the rabbits' snow white fur as Usagi steps outside. He looks up at the sky and sees groups of clouds floating peacefully above him. The sounds of Neo Edo echo, and Usagi feels his mussels release a bit more. There was a slight breeze that brushed past him. It was strong enough to move his ears, but it didn't send them flying. It was the perfect weather for Usagi,
“You coming or what?” Kitsune called.
He shifted his eyes over to his friend. Usagi smirked. “Yeah, let me stretch first.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leo felt his pause quicken. He doesn’t know what caused it. All he knew was that he was floating in the cold emptiness of space. There were no thoughts in his head, just a blank stare as the darkness covered him. His eyes were glossed over and empty. They focused on nothing, but it’s not like he had anything to look at anyway. There were only a few stars surrounding him, and even then, they were far away. No signs of life other than his own were there. Small chunks of debris slid past him slower than a worm. There was no sound, wind, or signs of anyone else.
It was cold and lonely. Where was everybody? Why wasn’t he with his brother, dad, or April? What was with the sinking feeling in his gut every time he thought of them? Did something happen to them? If so, why wasn’t he doing anything? But why did he think he was the one who needed help? Wasn’t there something important he was forgetting? He was somewhere familiar with this place, and that made him panic.
“Leo!”
He snapped himself out of his spiraling thoughts. Wasn’t that Mikey? Leo tried to move his body, but despite floating in zero gravity, he couldn’t move his body an inch. Sharp pains shot up his leg, pastron, shell, and arms. Leo bit his tongue as he tried to hold in a distressed cry.
Despite the pain, he tried to look for his brother. His head swiveled around like a bobble-head figurine as he became more and more worried. Leo couldn’t see any orange out of all the black and gray surrounding him. He could hear his little brother's voice calling out to him, so why can’t Leo see him?
“Leo, don’t do this!”
Raph, now where was he? He was a giant compared to Mikey; surely he would be easier to see! Leo forced his body to move, but it barely did. Gravity was keeping him from moving, and it took everything from him to try and sit up. Was he sitting up? No, that doesn’t matter right now! Where were his brothers?
“Nardo, where are you?”
Donnie, Donnie was here too! Leo’s twin was here, but why did he feel so disconnected? If Don was here, Leo would know. He would feel that warm feeling in his gut, that lingering presence that only Don had. Purple was harder to see in the dark compared to Raph’s red and Mikey’s orange. Still, he was nowhere to be seen!
Where were they? Where were they? Where were Leo’s brothers?!
“Leo, watch out!!” All three of them called.
Something appeared behind him. He couldn’t see, but he could feel it behind him. It wasn’t Donnie’s comforting presence that Leo knew by heart. This was foreign, dark, and cold. It was the space around him, but it was worse and deadlier. Leo could feel its claws reaching out for him. They were far away but so close that Leo could feel the shadow on his back. His breath quickens as he remembers what he forgot about. How could he forget a threat like that?
—------------------------------------------------------
Usagi skidded across the pavement, managing to keep himself on his feet. He recovered quickly and ran back towards Kitsune. He slashed at her shoulder with accuracy no one would expect from him (if they didn’t know him). Kitsune blocked it with one of her tessen before returning with a blow of her own. Usagi put all his weight on one foot, then turned away from the weapon. Using the momentum of the turn, he sliced at Kitsune, but she blocked again with the same fan. The fox jumped back, putting as much distance between the two as possible. Both of them take a stance, preparing for an attack.
“You’re not holding anything back!” Usagi compliments.
Kitsune chuckles. “Neither are you, but you’re getting sloppy!”
Usagi shakes his head in surprise and lowers his katana. “What!? No, I’m not! You’re just doing a lot of extra training without me!”
“Sure, whatever you think, bud.”
Kitsune dashes forward, preparing for another attack. She leaps at Usagi, but he is prepared to defend. The katana and tessen lock together, and the two friends exchange comparative grins. They push each other back and forth, trying to get the other to back off first. The grins start to shift into frustrated scowls, and the two start to exchange insults. They’re too busy arguing to notice Gen and Chizu walking up the stairs towards the temple.
“Uh, what are you doing?” Chizu asks.
The two stop to look at the cat and rhino. Usagi is about to answer when Kitsune does one final push, finally knocking him onto the ground. He falls with a thud, and his katana falls beside him.
“Hey, that’s cheating!”
“I wouldn’t call that cheating. It was more like taking advantage of the situation.” Kitsune smirks playfully.
Gen sighs, “Safe to say you two were sparing. Anyways, how’s the turtle?”
Kitsune offers a hand to Usagi, who begrudgingly takes it. The rabbit is pulled onto his feet, and he collects his weapon before dusting himself off.
“Nothing changed, so good, I guess.” Usagi shrugs. “Tetsujin’s inside watching over them right now. Have you found any information on them?”
Chizu tensed and looked down at the ground. “No, it’s like they just appeared out of nowhere. I still have the ninjas on the watch, though. Hopefully, they’ll find something soon.”
“How is that even possible?” Kitsune whispered to herself.
The four of them fell into silence, but as normal, it didn’t last for long. Gen pulled out a pink folder that looked tiny in his large hands. It was decorated with stickers of flowers, hearts, and faces making multiple expressions.
“I ran by the Shiba Inus clinic today. They asked me to give this to Tetsujin. It’s the blood test results and some additional notes.”
“We should go inside then! We might have to switch something out.” Usagi exclaimed.
He turned on his heels and began to march back to the temple doors. He heard Gen mumble something to Kitsune and Chizu, so he snapped his head around to look at him. Gen straightened up and waved back at him. Usagi just shrugged it off and continued walking. He heard his friends catch up to him, and they entered the building together.
Kitsune and Chizu made small talk as they entered the building. Kitsune's hand brushed up against Chizu’s, and the two smiled at each other. Chizu coaxed her head towards Usagi and Gen with a cautious glint. The fox deflated a bit but nodded in understanding. Usagi was too focused on getting to the Med Bay to notice, but Gen raised an eyebrow at the wired exchange.
Before the rhino could ask, a loud crash could be heard from deeper inside the temple. It was followed by inaudible shouts, but it was clearly not Tetsujin’s voice. Usagi jumped into action and ran to the med bay with a hand on the sheath of his katana. The steps of his friends were close behind them as they closed in on the noise.
With a slide, Usagi made it to the room. Needless to say, he did not expect to see what he saw. Standing on the side of the bed was the turtle. They were frantically looking around the room while holding onto the bed. One of the machines they were connected to had fallen over on the other side of the bed. Spot was barking at them, but he seemed more concerned than angry. Tetsujin was holding up their hands and attempting to calm them. The turtle didn’t seem to be listening, though. They kept shouting and trying to stand.
“Raph! Donnie! Mikey! I’m here; where are you!?”
“Pease, you need to lay back down, friend.” Tetsujin hushed.
“Where am I? Who are you!?”
“I am Tetsujin; I am the keeper of this temple.”
“Where are my brothers?!”
“I only found you.”
“No, no, you didn't! I heard them! Donnie! Mikey! Raph!”
The turtle slowly crept forward, but their broken leg gave out underneath them. They started to fall away from the bed, and Usagi jumped into action. He leaped through Tetsujin and reached out toward the turtle. Usagi managed to catch them in time before they hit the floor.
The turtle hissed in pain and looked down at their leg. Their eyes widened when they saw the cast wrapped around it. They attempted to lift themself from Usagi’s arms but were met with more pain from their shell and preston. Usagi could feel his body shaking violently at the simple movement. He tightened his grip around the stranger as a means of comfort. They looked up at them with concern and fear in their eyes.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. My name is Yuichi Usagi, and my friends and I are here to help you.” Usagi spoke softly.

Chapter Text

To say Leo was freaking out would be an understatement. Who wouldn’t have a panic attack after waking up from a dream? No, it was more of a nightmare! Being in an unfamiliar place didn’t help whatsoever. The room he woke up in was bigger than his room, but it was too small to be their medical bay. The med bay at home was made by Donnie, along with all of the equipment. It was about as big as their lab, and it was colored in pale purple. The significantly smaller room was a dark blue and was a bit messy. If Leo were home, Donnie would have cleaned up the loose papers and other junk. Then there was that transparent bear that was petting some tiny dinosaur. Leo would be lying if he didn’t think he was still dreaming at first. Reality sank in after the dinosaur accidentally whipped his leg with its tail. It hit a sore spot, and pain shot up Leo’s body. Yeah, he wasn’t dreaming.

Adrenaliin spread through his body like fire, but he was met with shooting pain up his entire body. He shrieked and jolted up a little too fast. Leo fell to the ground with a loud thud that was followed by more agony. His legs managed to stay on the bed, but the rest of him lay on the cold floor. That’s when he saw his body, covered in bandages, and the IV planted into his arm. The blankets had fallen with him, and Leo saw one of his legs had a cast around it. That same leg throbbed with the sudden movement, and it seemed to worsen the more he looked.
The bear levitated above the bed and asked him something in a worried tone. Leo didn’t hear him, though; he just stared at himself. He started to connect the dots on where he got these injuries, or, more like, who inflicted them. The panic grew. Where was Kraang Prime? If Leo wasn’t in the prison dimension, then was he? Leo thought about the future that he and his brother nearly avoided. Was that future happening here? Where was here?

A cold presence behind his shoulder caused him to jump back. On instinct, Leo swatted at the hand, but his hand went through the blue form in front of him. The bear was right in front of him. He was so close that Leo’s eyes couldn’t focus on his face. The bear said something about calming down, but it fell on deaf ears. Leo pushed himself back, running into some kind of screen. Eventually, he pushed himself into a wall, and his legs fell onto the floor, following him. The rush of pain that followed brought tears to his eyes as he now attempted to get up.

“Oh no, you shouldn’t do that! Your leg hasn’t healed yet!”

That was the first thing Leo was able to catch from the bear. He was staring at him and slowly inching closer as Leo clinched onto the wall for support. The mini dinosaur was yipping at him from the bed where it stood. Leo could almost see the worry in the creature's black eyes as it got closer.

With every step the two things took, the panic grew and grew. Leo looked around frantically, trying to find a way out. He tried to find his swords, but they were nowhere to be seen. They kept getting closer, so Leo did what he thought was best scream and let out all of his confusion. He screamed at the bear to get back and continued to yell until the bear was on the other side of the bed. That’s when he allowed himself to collapse partly onto the bed. He held himself up with his arms as his legs went slack under him. Leo continued to shout his lungs out. He called for his brothers, yelled at the bear, and then his brothers again.

Leo made the mistake of attempting to walk forward. He was confused, angry, and scared. Intimidation was the best thing he could think of to get answers. His leg immediately gave out, and he crumpled to the floor with a hiss, but instead of meeting the cold floor, he was met with arms.

That's when Leo saw him for the first time. A white bunny with brown eyes looked down at him in worry. His ears were tied back like a ponytail, which didn’t look comfortable to him. One of his eyebrows had a small slit on the side of it, but it looked more like a scar to Leo than something he did on purpose. His fur puffed out in a way that made it look like he had bangs. In any other circumstance, Leo would have made some corny joke about falling into his arms, but his anger was still going strong. He tried to get up, but he fell right back into the bunnies arms. That’s when he introduced himself as Usagi.

All that happened about ten minutes ago. Reluctantly, Leo went back to the bed, but he refused to lay back down. His pastron was cursing his name, but Leo was a stubborn turtle at times (and boy, it was one of those times)! Eventually, Usagi brought over a butch of pillows in order to make something he could lean against. Even with that there, Leo just scooched closer to it in case his center gave out.

Now he sat with a glare fixed on the crowd that had gathered in the room. It was a weird mix of yokai’s, with Usagi, a fox, a cat, a big ass rhino, the ghost bear, and the dinosaur. The clothes they all wore looked like the old Japanese clothes that Dad had. He kept them in dusty old boxes, but he’d air them out a few times a year. That’s the only time Leo saw Japanese clothing like that (other than on TV). Maybe this is an area of The Hidden City that he’s never been to before?

“So, are you going to introduce yourself?” The rhino asked.

Leo shifted his gaze to the rhino. His skin was a deep purple rather than the typical gray. He seemed to be wearing armor of some sort on his chest, and generally, he seemed to be wearing the most out of anyone. He wore a cropped purple jacket over it, but some shoulder armor sat on his right side. There was a slight discoloration on his horn, but Leo could be seeing things. Other than the cat, he sat the furthest away from him, so it was a bit hard to see him.

Leo narrowed his eyes. “Are you guys going to introduce yourselves?”

Donnie would be proud of all the sass he was giving these guys. Leo could hear Raph scolding him and Mickey attempting to hold in a laugh. He had to bite his tongue to keep his demeanor from changing. There was no way in hell Leo was going to show these guys weakness. He didn’t know what their attention was yet, even though they seemed nice enough. It was probably his stress getting to him.

The rhino sputtered at the response. “Well, yeah, I was planning on it. I-I wasn’t going to keep that from you.”

“We should all properly introduce ourselves. It’s only fair.” The cat chined in.

“Well, my name is Kitsune, the best performer in all of Neo Edo!” The fox smiled.

“I’m Chizu.” The cat sighed (most likely at the fox’s introduction).

“I’m Gen,” added the rhino.

“And I’m Tetsujin! I’m the caretaker of this temple you’ve been staying at.” The bear gestured to the nearby door.

Leo noted how the bear, Tetsujin, was keeping his distance. Did he freak him out a bit during that freakout? Either way, Leo didn’t mind; he didn’t like thinking about ghosts after that day in the grocery store.

Usagi helped up the dinosaur that had settled by his side. “And this is Spot! My loyal Tokage!”

“Tokage?” Leo echoed. “Is that the Japanese word for dinosaur, or something?”

Usagi tilted his head in confusion. He was about to say something before Kitsune leaned in closer to Leo.

“So are you going to introduce yourself or not?”

Leo frowned a bit. He was hoping to push off his introduction for a bit longer, but that didn’t seem to be possible. These five seemed to be eager to know who he was. Maybe it was the excited glint in Usagi and Kitsune’s eyes, or the way Chizu, Gen, and Tetsujin very subtly leaned in closer? The pressure from all the eyes made him shiver.
He dragged his hand down his face and reached for his mask tails. Leo loves to fidget with the ends of the well-loved fabric. It was comforting and funny enough that his brothers liked to do the same thing. It was something nice to do to remind Leo of home, so when he didn’t feel the worn mask on his face, he panicked. He patted his face to double-check before throwing around the sheets. There had been a few times he fell asleep with it on, and it split off, but it wasn’t buried in the white linen sheets. Leo turned to look at the pile of pillows. He lifted each one to see if it got mixed up in the tower.

“Are you looking for this?” Usagi asked.

Leo turned around a little too fast. His shell and patron ached, and Leo had to hold in a grunt of pain. Instead, a pathetic, hurt hum escaped his beek. He refused to make eye contact with anyone in the room. The pity on their faces might kill any of the strength he had left. He slowed to look towards Usagi, who held out his blue mask. Leo snatched it from his furry hands and quickly tied the fabric around his head.

The fleecy texture was welcomed on his smooth skin. Leo felt his body relax at the familiar feeling. He let himself sink into the pillow pile behind him. He lifted his hands to cover his eyes as he felt the mask. Eventually, he started rubbing the ends of the mask between his fingers. Even the small motion made him feel at ease. If he concentrated hard enough, he’d be able to hear the faint breathing of his family by his side. For the first time in what felt like forever, Leo let himself smile. He hummed a nameless tone to himself as he finally let himself breathe.

In his head, he was sitting on a rooftop with his brothers. Raph was next to him, talking about the last wrestling match he watched. Leo poked fun at Raph as he reminded Leo of the day he replaced Ghost Bear. Mickey was drawing the skyline in front of them while munching on a slice of pizza. Donnie was beside him on his phone watching something Leo could care less about. April was leaning on Don’s shoulder, making comments about the video he watched. The sounds of the city were peaceful background music to them as they continued basking in each other's company.

“Hey, Leo. You shouldn’t ignore them.” Raph lectures in his head.

That’s when he comes back to reality. The crowd around him all looked at him with different expressions. They all had some level of concern, but Usagi and Tetsujin seemed the most concerned. Kitsune had raised an eyebrow and kept looking between Leo and Gen. Gen was confused, and he started to flick his right ear in a slight panic. Chizu was the only one not directly looking at him, but you could see that she was contemplating something. Spot was attempting to jump onto the bed, but it was too high for him. All Leo could see was his head pop up from the edge, only for it to disappear again.

Leo feels his face get warm from embracement, or was he about to cry? The urge to curl up under the covers and hide his face for the rest of his life came over him. He tried to bring his legs towards him, but the extra weight from the cast fought him. So he settled on looking at the table next to the bed until someone said something.

“So, what’s your name?” Usagi spoke up.

Leo’s attention shifted to Usagi. “Ah, sorry, I got distracted. I’m Leonardo Hamato, but you can just call me Leo, Leon, Nardo, or really anything you can think of. I don’t care.”

“Leo, that’s a nice name! I’ve never met a Leo before.”

“Really? I always thought it was a pretty common name.”

“I guess it isn’t used here much.”

“Speaking of that, where is here?”

“Oh, you’re in Kistone Temple!” Usagi said.

Leo paused. “What town is that in?”

“Neo Edo.”

He said it so casually that Leo almost didn’t catch the unfamiliar name. What in the world was Neo Edo? At this point, Leo and his brothers have explored 90% of The Hidden City. If there was any place called Neo Edo, he would have heard about it. Unless it was some sort of secret hideout, The Hidden City was filled with secret passages and doorways; for all he knows, they may have missed the door to this place. Maybe this place was a little mini Japanese town like Chinatown?

Leo guessed he wasn’t completely in the dark about where he was. Tetsujin mentioned something about a temple caretaker. If he found Leo, it would only be natural for him to take him to the temple. Historically, they did take care of the sick and injured, right? Kitsune also mentioned Neo Edo (or was it Chizu?). Either way, the clues were there for him, but Leo just woke up! He woke up to many rude awakenings, so he has a reason to be a bit slow at the moment!

“Leo I know you just woke up,” Chizu started. “But we have some questions for you. Are you willing to answer them now?”

The cat had taken a few steps forward while Leo digested the new information (gods, she was quiet). Her eyes met his, and they both held each other's gaze for a moment before Leo looked away. He was exactly keen on answering any questions right now. Usually he’d be down to talk about himself, but he still felt so tired. Even if he wanted to go back to bed, he had too many of his own questions. He’d much rather ask them now than sit with them dancing in his head.

He sighed, “Sure, I guess, but only if you answer my own questions after!”

The group looked at each other. No one spoke, but you could tell a conversion was happening. It was short and sweet, and it reminded Leo of himself and his brothers.
“It’s only fair; I’ll keep it short so you can rest.” Chizu stated. “You already gave us your name, so can you tell us where you’re from?”

“New York City! The best place for a turtle to grow up!” Leo proudly grins.

The stares he got back in return spoke more words than what we're actually spoken. Their group looked around at each other with confused faces. They were acting like Leo was crazy (they probably weren’t wrong, but still)! There was no way they didn’t know about NYC! It’s one of the most recognizable cities in the whole world! Hell, the yokai in The Hidden City knew they lived under it, and they rarely went topside.

“I’m sorry, what are you talking about?” Kitsune questioned.

Okay, there is no way she actually said that! How could anyone in the world not know New York City!? Maybe they had a different name for it, but Leo wouldn’t know it. The best he could do was try to say it in Spanish, but he only heard Señor Hueso say it once or twice. He could take a jab at it, but he’d much rather pronounce it right instead of being wrong and Hueso finding out. Besides, these guys were Japanese. The chance of them knowing Spanish is highly unlikely.

Leo must have blue-screened because Usagi was waving his hand in front of his face. “Leo, are you okay?”

With a shake of his head, Leo shouted, “No, I’m not! You can’t be serious!”

“About what?!” Gen asked, jumping back from the sudden noise.

“New York! Everyone knows about it!”

“Well, I don't,” Kitsune mumbled.

“That’s Bullshit!”

Tetsujin flouted over to Leo, holding his hands up in the air. “Maybe we should calm down a bit.”

Leo gritted his teeth in a way that would have gotten him a Raph talk. These guys had to know about New York! If they didn’t, how was he meant to find his way home? He couldn’t wait for his brothers to find him. Who knew where they were or if they were okay?

The thought of an injured Mickey trying to sneak out of bed to try using his mystic hands again came to Leo. Seeing his youngest brother struggle to stand up broke his heart. The idea of Raph losing sleep over his fears was equally alarming. His casum would probably grow more. If he did ever fall asleep, Leo knew he would be plagued with nightmares that would wake him up. Donnie would pull all-nighters (which is something he already does). If he was hurt, though, he’d be suffering all day and night just to find a way to get Leo back. Dad would be worried sick not only about Leo but also about his brothers. How would he handle a missing son and three injured ones by himself? How often would April be over to help? She has a whole other family to take care of. Would there be time for her to come visit?

Leo attempted to pull his leg to his chest, but agonizing pain reminded him that he was bedridden. He hasn’t asked about his injuries yet. He was split between asking or letting someone bring it up naturally. There was no way he’d be moving from this bed anytime soon. Leo was never the type to sit still for long. He loved being out and about, and a part of him was always moving. If every part of him was sore, how was he going to keep himself sane?

After a while, Leo pressed himself further into the pillow pile behind him. He didn’t feel like talking anymore. That wasn’t really like him, but he’d rather be by himself right now. There was still so much for him to process. He pulled the sheet over him to hide his face as best he could. Leo didn’t like others seeing him upset, so he hoped the others would take the hint.

Soon after, Leo heard whispering. He couldn’t make out the words, but he wasn’t all that interested. After a moment, footsteps moving towards the door could be heard. With a gentle swish, the sliding door shut, and Leo sat alone. He checked after a minute of silence just to make sure Tetsujin was floating around somewhere. When he did see the bear, Leo brought the blankets down to rest on his plastron.

He let out a sigh and rested his good hand over his eyes. The thoughts of his family consumed his mind as the quiet grew. Leo could hear their voice in the back of his mind repeating the things from his dreams. His breathing hitched as tears slowly began to gather. The more he thought about them, the first few tears went down his face. He tried to keep his cries as quiet as possible by holding back as much as he could.

As his emotions poured out, Leo felt something tug at the blankets. When he opened his eyes, Spot was standing there, looking at him. Confused, he looks back at the door, only to see that it’s still closed. Spot must have gotten stuck inside while the others left. Leo had no idea how the tiny dinosaur got back onto the bed, but he wasn’t too concerned. Spot licked at a loose tear falling down his cheek. Another fell on the other side, and again, Spot licked it up. The dinosaur kept sniffing his face for more salty sobs. Leo couldn’t help but laugh at the creature's actions. He gently pushed the dino away once his platron got sore from the laughs. Spot looked back at him with curiosity, but he eventually spun around and laid down in Leo’s lap. As he began to fall asleep, Leo's heart began to swell with excitement. He always wanted a pet to cuddle with. He reached down and used his hand to softly pet Spot. He stirred a bit at the touch, but immediately calmed down. The two sat like that for a while until they both fell asleep.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------
“Usagi, don’t go in there! He clearly wanted to be left alone.” Gen whisper yelled.

The rabbit turned back to look at his friend making a grand gesture to the door. He knew Leo wanted to be alone right now, but he can’t just leave Spot here! Usagi wasn’t going to dump Spot on him for the night. Especially since he didn’t know for sure if he was in the Med Bay. Besides, he wouldn’t leave him behind like that.

“I need to get Spot!” Usagi groned. “It will just take a minute. I’m just going to open the door and see if he’s inside.”

He listened to Gen’s frustrated noises as he stepped up to the door. Slowly, he pulled it open, trying not to make much noise. Usagi poke his head in to see if he could see Spot. The tokage was lying on the bed, taking a nap next to Leo. Usagi gazed at Leo and saw that he was also asleep. A small smile grew on his face. Hopefully, this time, he won’t have a nightmare.

“Spot!” Usagi whispered.

The tokage tail flicked before Spot’s head lifted up. Once he saw Usagi, his tail started to wag and thump the side of the bed. Usagi shushed him a little too loudly. Thankfully, Leo just moved his arm to lay over his chest. A sigh of relief left Usagi, and he motioned for Spot to come over. Spot stands up and jumps off the bed. He walks over to his friend, who picks him up in his arms.

Usagi slowly closes the door behind him, but Spot lets out a small chirp. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

Spot yips at the door and reaches a paw towards it. The others gather around as Spot continues to yap.

“Aww, Spot made a friend.” Kitsune swooned.

“He must really like Leo.” Chizu adds. “I’ve never seen him act like this.”

Usagi smiled down at his friend. “Aw, Spot, we can come back tomorrow to see him!”

The tokage perks up at that. He chirps in agreement before moving to settle himself on Usagi’s shoulders.

“Looks like we’ll be stopping by again tomorrow.” Usagi giggles.

Chapter Text

Usagi opened the door to the makeshift medical bay. Spot ran in as soon as the door was opened enough for him to squeeze through. The tokage chirped loudly, causing Leo to look up from the book that he was reading. As soon as the reptile saw the small dinosaur, a fond smile grew on his face. Spot tried his best to jump up onto the bed, but he missed the first few times. Usagi gave him a hand, and he immediately ran over to Leo. He started licking his face all while Leo laughed and tried to gently push him off. Usagi chuckled before moving Spot off to the side of Leo’s hip. While the tokage wasn’t happy about that, he accepted his fate quickly. He sat down, facing Leo, who started scratching under his chin.
“He really likes you.” Usagi giggled.
Leo looked up at him. “Everybody likes me.”
Although Leo’s bluntness took him by surprise, he couldn’t help but grin. Leo had only been up for a few days now, but he really seemed to be getting used to his new surroundings. Usagi could only imagine the stress that he was going through. His heart pulled at the idea of what Leo could possibly be going through. As much as he wanted to ask, Usagi knew that right now was not the right time.
Leo had only been awake for about three days, and he’s been out for about a week. He had mentioned brothers before, and Usagi couldn’t help but wonder how worried they were about him. Especially since Leo almost had a heart attack after waking up from that wired dream the other day.
“So, um, what's up?”
Usagi pulled over a chair and took a seat. Leo’s eyes were fixed on him as he moved, waiting for his answer. Would it be wired to admit it was so Spot could see him?
“Oh, well, I promised Spot we would come back and see you.” Usagi explained, crossing his legs so he’d sit criss-cross applesauce. “I also just wanted to see how you were doing.”
Leo hummed as he pushed himself up to sit better. He didn’t wince in pain at all, but his arm shook as he slowly moved himself. Spot adjusted accordingly and finally decided to lay down at Leo’s side. The turtle continued to pet him as he stared off towards the door.
“Your friends aren't with you this time?”
Usagi shook his head. “No, Gen’s out working, Chizu and Kitsune are at the dojo, and Toshiko out of town for the day. She’s helping my auntie fix one of the Farmbotto’s, I think.”
“What in the world is a Farmbotto?” Leo questined.
Usagi paused before continuing. “It’s a big robot that helps out on farms. My auntie has a few to help her get work done. I guess one of them has been having issues that she can’t figure out, so she asked if Toshiko could help.”
“Okay, cool. Who’s Toshiko?”
“Oh, she’s Gen’s sister. She hasn’t been here since you’ve woken up, but she’ll probably stop by sometime soon.”
“Is she as tall as Gen?”
Usagi wasn’t expecting him to ask so many questions. Usually, Leo’s been pretty quiet and reserved. Maybe he needed to let out some energy?
“Yeah, but I think Gen is slightly taller. Anyway, what are your plans for today?”
Leo looked down at the book with a bit of a frown. He lazily picked it up and showed it off before throwing it back down. Spot stared at the book after it landed, wanting to see what had disturbed his rest. Leo gave him some extra pats before the tokage laid back down.
“Reading a book. Then maybe another book once I’m done, or after Tetaujin finds one that looks interesting.”
“Not a reader?”
Leo shrugged. “I don’t hate it, but I prefer comics. I like to have visuals to help me understand things better.”
Usagi jumped up a bit too fast, startling both Leo and Spot. “I love comics! If you want, I can run back home and grab some. I have a bunch that you can borrow.”
For the first time since Leo’s been here, he actually seems to have perked up a bit. There was a subtle shine to his eyes that hadn’t been there before. A sense of pride filled Usagi as he waited for Leo’s answer.
“You really don’t mind?”
“Not at all! I have so many of them, no one except for me would notice any were missing! Besides, I’m caught up on one specific issue right now. That's all I’ve been reading for the past week!”
Usagi stands up, and he rocks on his heels before turning back to the door. He’s about to leave when he turns back to the turtle.
“Spot can stay with you while I’m out if you want. Are there any specific genres or brands you like?”
“Action, adventure, and sci-fi are my favorites. If you have Jupiter Jim or Lou Jitsu, those would be great.”
Usagi cocked his head. He had never heard of those before. He of course knew about sci-fi and action adventures, but what the hell was a Jupiter Jim? It sounded really cool, so maybe it was a lesser-known series? Either way, Usagi was going to be stopping at his local comic store later. At the moment, he was way too excited to get Leo something to help cheer him up. He gave him a quick thumbs up before dashing for the main entrance of the temple.
—------------------------------------------------------------------
Leo was now left to his own devices. Maybe he should have asked Usagi to wait on getting him those comics, because now he had to wait for him to get back! Sure, he had Spot, but Leo was the type of turtle that needed multiple things to keep him stimulated. He needed a TV or something so his eyes could watch something moving other than Spot’s tail. If he had nothing to keep himself occupied, he would have to listen to the thoughts in his head, and that was never a good idea. He could go back to reading again, but this book wasn’t exactly thrilling. An introduction to basic organic chemistry was something Donnie would enjoy more than him.
Leo sank into the bed. Sitting in one spot was starting to drive him crazy. He had never been the type of turtle to sit in one place for long (other than Mikey). Was he in excruciating pain? Yes, most definitely, but did he also want to escape the sad excuse of a med bay? Yes, yes, yes, yes- more than anything in the world! If his leg wasn’t broken, it would bounce hard enough to break the bed. Leo knew better than anyone that moving around wasn’t the best idea.
On his team, every brother had some sort of medical expertise. Since he was their fitness guy, Raph knew the majority of the muscles in the body. He was also the one who took care of any physical therapy they needed. Mikey was their mental health person. While none of the brothers were really comfortable sharing their emotions, Mikey could read them all like a book! He always knew what advice to give, and he asked how everyone was doing (other than Raph). Donnie was a bit of an all-arounder, but he focused on body functions and pharmaceutical needs. He knew both turtle and human anatomy and how the two differed in any way. If Hamato was extremely sick, he would check over the medications April would bring to make sure they would work for them. He had a long Google doc with medications that worked for them, needed modifications, or just didn’t work for turtle mutants. April was basically that family pharmacist, getting anything they needed from the topside. Splinter was the main caregiver, and he made the final calls on tough decisions. Finally, Leo was their first-aid guy. If you had an injury, you would check with Leo. If it were more serious, both he and another family member would handle the situation together. Leo was the most skilled at patching people up after a bad fight, so he’s had to give the dreaded ‘stay in bed’ order a few times before.
Even with Leo’s medical experience, he was tempted to not listen to the doctor. Once, he sprained his wrist while out on the town with his brothers. Raph, Donnie, and Leo himself were able to determine the injury before they got back to the lair. Raph was very adamant about Leo sitting out on missions since it was almost impossible for him to use his odachi. Sure, he didn’t like missing missions, but a sprained wrist wouldn’t stop him from skateboarding! Needless to say, no one was happy watching Leo attempt new tricks while hurt.
Although his brothers are just as bad as him, Mikey was the best of them all. He made it a habit of trying something new when bedridden, which kept him occupied. Raph was also very good about letting his body heal, but his older brother and leader instincts were a bitch sometimes. Donnie was just as bad, if not worse, than Leo. He would insist on working in the lab, despite how severe the pain was. He could look the worst you’ve ever seen him, and he’d still slave over an unfinished project non-stop. Once, Donnie had a nasty fever, but he stayed in his lab until it finally left his system. The brothers were sure that he pulled an all-nighter one night because of how bad he looked in the morning.
Either way, Leo was itching to go on a walk. He didn’t need to go outside; he just needed to move. He had way too much energy and had almost life-threatening injuries! How was he supposed to get it all out when all he had was an old book?
Cool, smooth skin bumped into his head. Leo looked down at Spot, who was headbutting him for pets. He smiled and began to scratch the tiny dinosaur's chin. Spot’s foot started to hit the bed with his foot; he must have needed a good scratch. Maybe Spot would be a good outsource for Leo’s pent up-energy?
—------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other than when aliens were invading, Usagi never ran so fast. Knowing he could help not look so gloomy made him excited. He gets it though, it’s not fun being forced to sit around all day with nothing to do. As much as he liked Tetsujin, he didn’t have a lot of entertaining things around the temple. It was mostly old relics, history books, and other random things that interested the bear. The temple held all the things its permanent residence needed, but not everyone enjoyed the same things as Tetsujin.
He adjusted the bag on his shoulder and walked into the temple again. Usagi may have gone a bit overboard, but he wanted to make sure Leo had options. What if he didn’t like one, but there were only three to pick from? He also brought both the first and second issues of each series in case he liked them. Then he also knew what to bring the next time he came for a visit.
When Usagi got back, he didn’t see the bear anywhere. It didn’t matter, though; Usagi was focused on getting the comics to Leo. He made his way to the med bay and knocked on the door before walking in. Leo was aggressively rubbing at Spot’s belly, but the tokage seemed to be enjoying it.
“Oh, you’re back!” Leo called.
Usagi smiled and made his way over to the bed. Spot jumped up and ran to the end of the bed. He yipped happily at the rabbit and waited for more pets. Usagi laughed and patted the tokage’s head before taking a seat next to Leo. He pulled his legs up so he could sit-cross-applesauce on the chair. Spot settled back down next to Leo and watched the two expectantly.
“Sooo, what did you bring me?”
A wide smile crossed Usagi’s face, and he pulled his bag onto his lap. “Oh, I grabbed a lot! I think you’re going to love them.”
“Cool, so what are they?” Leo asked as he crossed his arms behind his head.
“I grabbed my favorite series, and I made sure to grab the first few issues for you! I have no idea if you’ll actually like any of these, but in case you do, you don’t have to wait for me to visit to read the next chapters.” Usagi started pulling out the comics.
Leo watched as more and more books were pulled out and placed on the bed. He slowly became more confused after at least six books appeared by him. Usagi still had more in his bag, and Leo was starting to wonder if the rabbit was Mary Poppins.
“How many did you grab?” Leo questioned.
Usagi looked up at him for a moment. He placed a finger on his chin and started to tap it. “I think I grabbed 15 different series, so that’s about..uh.”
Usagi started counting it out on his fingers while Leo did the math in his head. The turtle's mind spireled once he got his answer.
“You brought 30 comics?!”
Usagi didn’t respond right away. He whispered numbers to themselves and continued counting. Leo watched as it took at least another minute for him to get his answer. He seemed to shock himself with the number he got.
Usagi giggled softly. “I guess I did.”
Leo stared at him a bit longer before leaning back. He let out a sigh, followed by his own laugh. “Don’t tell me you brought your whole collection.”
“No way! This isn’t even half of it!”
“You’re joking! You might as well own a store if you have more.”
“I get great deals at the local stores. Once you're a hero, you get some pretty sick deals!” Usagi says, leaning back in the wooden chair.
The turtle raises a non-existent eyebrow before a curious grin inches onto his face. “A hero, huh? I guess that katana on your hip isn’t for show, then?”
The rabbit paused to look down at his weapon. He never leaves home without it, and it’s gotten to a point where Usagi doesn’t always remember grabbing it. Sometimes, he thinks he sleeps with it by accident. He places a hand on Edgewing and smiles gently while he rubs the hilt with his thumb. Despite having Miyamoto Usagi’s sword, Willow Branch, after Auntie saw the sword, she insisted on keeping it on the farm. Now the ancient weapon rests in Auntie's house, where it is safe.
Usagi lets out a chuckle. “Sorry, this baby isn’t for show. This is Edgewing; it’s a katana that has been in my family for awhile. You can fight too, right?”
“How did you know?” Leo asked as he flicked the ends of his mask. “Was it his dazzling good looks, my toned muscles, or maybe all of the above?”
Leo rested his chin on his good hand, and two pairs of eyes met. The turtle tried to keep his confidence up as the silence fell over them. The rabbit stared back blankly at the reptile, only occasionally blinking. Leo was starting to think he should have kept his mouth shut. Before he could say an apology, a loud, hardy laugh came from Usagi. He hunched over, holding his stomach, as Spot sat up to stare at his friend. It was Leo’s turn to stare too, as he tried to think of what he said to make Usagi fall over with laughter.
Sure, he regarded himself as the funniest brother, but no one ever laughed this hard at his jokes. Every once in a while, he got a good laugh at everyone, but it was pretty rare. What he said was more of a habit that Leo got into. It was like a second-nature comment for him, like saying thank you to a server after they brought over your food.
“Uh, Usagi?”
The rabbit whipped away a tear from the corner of his eye. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting that! You’ve been so angsty since you woke up the first time. I was starting to think that you hated me!”
“Angsty! I wasn’t being angsty!” Leo shot back.
“You looked like you were about to either cry or yell on command half of the time.”
Leo felt her face go warm. He let out an embarrassed grown as he slouched into the bed. His good leg bumped into Spot, who stood up to avoid being pushed off. Spot readjusted himself before sitting down to face Leo, who was laughing into his hand.
“Dammit, sorry about that. I didn’t realize how bad the stress was getting to me.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. Anyone would be stressed if they were in your situation, and you have people to help you through it!” he paused. “That's a bit cheesy, though.”
The two boys laughed together before Leo said, “Just a bit, but I do appreciate it. I’d be dead if Tetsujin, and I'm really grateful for everything you've done for me.”
“Well, I’m glad that we can help. Please, let us know if there’s anything else we can do for you! We’ll do our best!”
Leo rested his head in his good hand. He leaned his arm on the side table as he listened to Usagi ramble on about the comics he brought